Film: Iggy Boom
Director: Oscar Degirolamo
Writers: Oscar Degirolamo
Actors: Johnny Callaghan and Rhys Crowley
Synopsis: Daniel goes to university and discovers it’s not just studying and getting early nights
Q. Your film ‘Iggy Boom’ has been selected to play at the Southend Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. People can expect to see a lot zany and fun moments, that happen around or to, a stuck up mommy’s boy named Daniel. It defies all laws of nature but does so to allow it’s abstract comedy to (hopefully) hit you with a BOOM!
Q. How did the idea for the film come about and What were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. I was in a car with my friend Johnny (Iggy Boom) and we were talking about Iggy Pop and how he is defying everything we know about biology by just being alive. We decided this could only be because of one reason… Mother Nature (or some sort of deity) froze him for long periods of time, resulting in a prolonged existence; spending sometimes six months bobbing up and down in the sea, trapped inside of a magic iceberg.
Then we learnt that Mr Pop was also American! We had assumed that he was English. This blew our minds more than him still walking this earth, and so we conjured a British alter-ego Iggy… BOOM (instead of the onomatopoeic pop). Who gets constantly frozen due to his excessive partying.
When writing my inspirations were probably from The Mighty Boosh, as that played a huge role in my comedic taste. I didn’t consciously use anything but the idea of the character when writing, but I think audiences will spot the essence of many other films and series when watching it. Especially The Inbetweenersesque Daniel.
Q. What were some of the influences for the look and style of the film?
A. Well, Iggy Pop was a big one. The main area we took inspiration from was his infamous party
lifestyle, which can be seen in the caricature of a costume for Boom; as we dowsed his vest and jeans in coffee, ketchup and ripped it and burnt it with cigarettes. Was a fun day of the shoot that one.
I would also say Edgar Wright, who stole his mickey mouse style of editing from Darren Aronofsky, and how his use of fast paced editing and performance is paired with over the top, B-movie style sound effects to exaggerate certain moments- most the time for comedic effect.
Q. Where there any elements of the original script which were adapted during filming?
A. The ending was one. Originally I had Daniel just stand outside alone by himself in the rain to deliver the final line in voiceover. Then Rhys (Daniel), said: “Why don’t we have the door be slammed in my face?”. I was intrigued. Then jokingly Rhys added: “Or even have Johnny throw me out of the door!”. He delivered this with a laugh, but I met this joke by me and my mother putting down every piece of cushioning we had in the house along our front path. We even had extra guests as one of my filmmaker friends, Lois Schofield, had come to pick me up for her film, with one of her actors Ella Fowler. Rhys’ finest moment. About ten of us watched or partook in Rhys being thrown out of the door repeatedly over and over again. He hasn’t been as frequent with jokes recently.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments whilst making the Film?
A. Definitely the ending, as it is such a frantic, thrown together moment. Another would probably be covering my bathtub with a bed sheet and using smoke machine attached to a plumbing tube full of frozen water bottles (to give the smoke some weight) to pump the smoke into it.
This was quite a fun experiment as we had no idea what would occur when we put Johnny underneath the sheet. We filmed him saying his last words before hand, just to be safe. We did many a takes of this and I even had a go. It’s very hot and you can’t see a thing; but it was an experience.
Q. Did you experience any issues whilst making the film?
A. I had to reshoot the ending scene with different actors the second time around, as my original actors were not available on the days I needed to shoot, and now I’m stuck with them complaining to me everyday at school about they thought they looked really good in it and are disappointed it was cut. That wasn’t a major issue during the film, as I knew people who were available, but post it has left me two little itches, that in a way did disrupt the editing of the film.
Just to clarify these two are my friends and will be fine with being referred to as ‘little itches’.
Q. What do you hope people will take away from the film?
A. I really hope that people laugh and enjoy it; and come away feeling happy from the abnormal content within the film.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are working on?
A. I am currently working on a musical titled : “Mother’s Advice”, which I did want to enter to Southend Film Festival, but the audio needs some cleaning (something that I should have thought more about when making Iggy Boom). The film has been and shot and edited, but I’m waiting till after my A-levels to finally complete it.
Q. If someone is looking to direct their first film, what advice would you give them?
A. I read my answer to this question from last year and I essentially said to just go out and make a film and don’t be scared. I still stand by this statement but I think that Iggy Boom is a film that reinforces the idea about learning the rules, so that you know how to break them. I applied a lot narrative structure basics, but the area I chose to do differently was the tone and style of the film.
Knowing that I was using a successful story telling formula, I felt safer when I wanted to push the boundaries. Learn the basics because everybody has to start somewhere. Even if you have a film with a simple plot and simple characters, you’ve made a decent film; but what you’ve gained is a better idea of what to do on the next one, in terms of writing and the practical process. Do not do what people say (ironic as I am giving advice), but people will not listen to you unless it is in language they understand. Learn their language, and then learn to manipulate it so it becomes YOUR language.
Found out more about writer-director Oscar Degirolamo on the following Instagram accounts @oscar_degirolamo & @whatoscarthinksss
You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets for Iggy Boom here:
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
